A mute John Doe (Charlie Day) is found in a mental institution with the capacity of a five year old. He is released into LA where he is picked up by a movie producer (Ray Liotta). The producer is tired of the star of his movie and intends to use our doppelganger John Doe as a stand-in to replace his star. Lenny (Ken Jeong) is a weasel "publicist" who mistakenly calls John Doe "Latte Pronto" due to the producer's coffee demands. Latte is on his way to becoming a big Hollywood star.
This is a fascinating movie. Someday, someone will dissect this movie to determine why it's not funny. The most obvious reason is that Charlie Day is playing a mute. He has one of the most comedic voices in the world today. People laugh just by the sound of it. It's like an NBA player saying he'll play while having his hands tied behind his back. Sometimes, actors like to go 180 opposite their strength to show that they have undiscovered depths. They go against their popular narrative. In this one, he's trying to do his version of The Tramp. The character construction is too sloppy. He is literally a blank. Instead of a living breathing character, he is a hole on the screen. There is nothing there.
His nothingness may be the point. The movie is satirizing Hollywood and its nothingness quality. In that, this is not breaking any new cinematic grounds. It is ridiculous without being funny. Ken Jeong's over the top character Lenny is almost there at first until he meets Latte. There is a puzzling hole with Latte that overwhelms any chance for humor. The movie just dies.
